| Texas WR Kwame Cavil ran a very, very, very disappointing 40
— in the 4.8 area — which could knock him from a third-round pick almost, if not
entirely, out of the draft. I feel this is wrong because you also have to base your
evaluation on how a player plays. But by the same token, you do have to take the time into
consideration, and this time obviously is not going to help him. WR Todd Pinkston
of Southern Mississippi has worked out extremely well.
WR Jerry Porter’s interviews with clubs have not gone very well. A lot of
clubs feel he’s a self-centered player who is looking to blame others when things go
wrong.
QB Chad Pennington continues to work out very well and get good reviews. Because
he is the only top quarterback in this draft — in the estimation of most teams —
and most scouts don’t see a top senior QB for next year’s draft, he could go a
lot higher than people think he should in terms of true value. There’s also a
possibility that Denver, which is trying desperately to move up, wants Pennington, not Brian
Urlacher as reported elsewhere. Mike Shanahan has offered the Baltimore Ravens
the 10th pick in the draft and his second-round pick in exchange for the fifth
pick overall, and the Ravens are very interested, but they want a contingency in the deal
that if Peter Warrick were to last until the fifth pick, they could rescind the
deal.
Patrick Pass, the Georgia running back who really was not highly regarded in
college after being very highly regarded coming out of high school, had an outstanding
workout and ran 4.46 at 221 pounds. The two hangups are that he’s also a pro baseball
player and he has not been very durable or been recommended that highly by his coaches.
But on the heels of the success of Olandis Gary and Terrell Davis (who
didn’t post huge numbers in college), I think people are going to be a lot more
interested in him than they ordinarily would be.
QB Doug Johnson of Florida did not run well.
Jacoby Shepherd, the cornerback at Oklahoma State, had an outstanding position
workout, which could move him up as high as the second round. He fits the mold of big
cornerbacks, which a lot of teams want, and although he would be a gamble in that area,
his size is very impressive.
The knock on Tulane WR JaJuan Dawson had been his lack of speed, but he really
helped himself by running 4.52 on grass at 197 pounds, although he still doesn’t play
like a burner. That 40-time could move him up to the third or fourth round in the draft.
RB Shaun Alexander at Alabama ran 4.51 and 4.53 on a very fast surface and had
good drills overall, which will help him.
Alabama DL Cornelius Griffin continues to work out well, which probably will get
him into the second round.
Arizona State DE Erik Flowers’ workout went very, very well, which will get
him into the second round.
Arizona State RB J.R. Redmond’s workout did not go well. He ran only about
4.65, which definitely knocks him out of the first round and could knock him out of the
second round.
Miami (Fla.) MLB Nate Webster ran 4.62 and 4.68 with and against the wind, on
grass, at 225 pounds. But some of his character checks reportedly may hurt him a little
bit.
Mississippi State CB Robert Bean ran reasonably well, but scouts were alarmed by
how poor his bench press was. He could lift 225 pounds only four times.
Tennessee State WR Avion Black continues to work out well and could conceivably
go as high as the third round in this draft. However, he also could fall because there are
some inconsistencies in his play, he’s not that big and this is a very deep draft for
wide receivers
Oklahoma State CB Evan Howell did not have an especially impressive workout
overall.
Iowa State DT-DE Robert Brannon had a fairly impressive workout but may be a
little bit too heavy at 300-plus pounds.
At Notre Dame, nobody really took the bull by the horns and stood out that much during
his workout, and this is the type of year when the Fighting Irish may have no really high
draft picks. DE-OLB Lamont Bryant was up to 260 pounds, but he ran only 4.98 on a
fast surface. However, his vertical jump and agility drills were very good. DT Brad
Williams had a nice workout, running 5.0 at 290 pounds and benching 225 pounds 28
times. WR Bobby Brown ran a little better, 4.61, and had a very impressive
39.5-inch vertical jump.
Editor’s note: This draft update is a sample of what we’ll provide next year
on our new premium-services Web site, PFWsports.com. Other examples of future premium
content will appear on ProFootballWeekly.com in the next few weeks before the April 15-16
NFL draft, including more player workout information, updated printouts and a late mock
draft. |
